Hearts in Atlantis: BIRTH
by BlackRoseAnsem
Summary: Final Fantasy 7 Yaoi june shonen ai whatever SephirothXCloud, Mild SephXZack & ZackXCloud If you have read previously, wait until my next update and reread, because it will be a complete rewrite starting with Ch 1... Long overdue
1. Surprises

Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story. Ansem owns me. ^__^; Jk.  
  
*to Blues Clues "we just got a letter" tune* I need inspiration, I need inspiration, I need inspiration and I need it NOW! I'm a little happy at the moment. I got 10 reviews for ch 1 so far and I'm overjoyed about it. As u've probably noticed I changed my author name. I am now Ansem, seeker of darkness (becuz that guy is so damn cool, among other reasons) just to let any DBZ fans know, my friend Thanatos has recently started a fic called 'One man army' if I remember correctly which is centered on Brolli(don't read if u don't know who Brolli is), I am actually helping write it and will be making an appearance as a main character in ch 2 as. Brolli's girlfriend ^__^ *hits hysterically laughing Thanatos with laptop.* If any one even wants to know how I got that part just review and ask and I'll tell you. Anyways, one of may reviews said that I shouldn't make Sephy-sama curse so much so im very sorry that I forgot to tell that Seph would be OOC. Don worry tho. He will revert back and forth so that we can see both sides (I think people like him OOC more tho.)  
Ansem, seeker of darkness  
  
Hearts in Atlantis: BIRTH  
  
Chapter 2: SURPRISES  
  
LAST CH. "Fuck."  
  
"What did you say that for?"  
  
"We've met Zack. I don't think he thinks very highly of me anymore." He answered, running a gloved hand through his hair and bowing his head, mad at himself for yelling at a kid with almost as bad of a past as his own. He felt sorry too, for the run in had been entirely his fault. //If I hadn't stopped dead in the middle of the hallway that run in would have never happened.// He scolded mentally. //And I yelled at him for something that was my fault. Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit!// **************************************************************  
  
"What do I do now, Zack?" Sephiroth asked, looking at his second. Zack smiled before answering.  
  
"Apologize to him."  
  
"Apologize? Why?" Sephiroth asked looking dumbfounded for a moment.  
  
"Well, from the way you're acting I'd say that it was your fault." Zack looked at him knowingly. "Wasn't it?"  
  
Sephiroth sighed in defeat. "You're right, Zack. You're always right somehow. Where can I find him?"  
  
Zack smiled once again. "Just come to my place later tonight. He should be back from guard duty by 9."  
  
Sephiroth nodded and began to walk towards his office. (AN: As I said in previous chapter-*sarcastically* Paperwork!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!) Halfway down the hall Zack yelled after him.  
  
"Hey Seph!"  
  
"Yes Zack?"  
  
"Don't just come, say sorry and leave. You need to talk to him. You'll see what I mean."  
  
Sephiroth turned and hazel met emerald for the briefest moment before he nodded and headed towards the observatory room, putting of all the paperwork he had for later. *********** Sephiroth left the observatory room 2 hours later still thinking about how well Cloud handled a Buster Sword. //He handled it better than most troops I've seen before. He's unnaturally fast with it as well. He could have probably killed his training partner if he wanted to.//  
  
He headed back to his quarters, blowing his work off again. //Not like the papers will miss me.// He thought bitterly.  
  
As soon as he reached his quarters he stepped inside and locked the door behind him. Without turning the lights on he walked the familiar hallway to his bedroom, stopping in the bathroom for a moment to turn on the shower before walking into his dark bedroom to grab another pair of clothes. After turning on the light, he scanned the room for a moment, taking in the large amounts of black and white that decorated the room. //Maybe I should redecorate. feh. Who am I kidding?// Smiling to himself, Sephiroth opened his dresser, digging out some casual clothes and walking back to the bathroom.  
  
(A: Later, at Zack's pigsty *grins*)  
  
"Aw. come on, Spike! Stop studying for a little!"  
  
Cloud looked up from his notes on Materia with a sigh before glaring at his roommate.  
  
"Zack, I need to study this. I want to be able to /take/ the entrance exam, not fail halfway there." Zack looked at him oddly for a moment before shrugging.  
  
"Come on, Spike. You're not gonna fail. You're a smart kid. At least stop studying for now, we have a guest coming over."  
  
"Guest? Who is it?"  
  
Zack merely grinned. "I'm not telling. You're just gonna have to wait and see. You'll be surp." A loud knock on the door cut off the rest of Zack's sentence.  
  
"Zack? Are you there?" called a voice from the other side that caused Cloud to stop dead.  
  
"No. Zack! Are you serious? Why is he here?!?" Cloud nearly screamed at his roommate. Zack just grinned.  
  
"I heard about what happened in the hall and I also found out it was his fault, so I told him to come over and apologize for being such an ass."  
  
"This is not good." Cloud turned three shades of green.  
  
And passed out.  
  
AN: ARGH!!! Finally finished ch 2 and im proud to say its 1 page longer than ch 1. I really need a life, no? 


	2. Apologies and Friendship?

Ok. I just sorta had the idea for this one when I saw a doujinshi (sp?) cover with Seph and Cloud on a motorcycle so this is gonna be a long chapter. And for those of you who want a lemon ur gonna have ta suffer till Cloud's B-Day and the end of this part but if ur really desperate to read it I'm gonna write it soon so that when the appointed day to post it comes around I'm not scrambling around trying to finish it and summer HW and what not. If you are really desperate to read it then drop me an e-mail or a review that has your e-mail address on it cuz if u don't I will not leave a note in my profile or author notes so be sure to leave ur e-mail. AND I am so so so so /SO/ happy for all the wonderful reviews I have received encouraging me to continue, and I hope that those wonderful people will continue to review AND LEAVE AIM SCREENAMES OR EMAIL ADDRESSES SO I CAN THANK THEM! ARGH! I guess that's it for now so. On with the damned story  
  
Ansem, seeker of darkness  
Hearts In Atlantis: BIRTH  
  
Part 1 Ch 3  
  
APOLOGIES and /FRIENDSHIP/?!?!  
Last Ch.  
  
"I heard about what happened in the hall and I also found out it was his fault, so I told him to come over and apologize for being such an ass."  
  
"This is not good." Cloud turned three shades of green.  
  
And passed out. **************************  
  
Sephiroth heard the thud on the other side of the door and wondered what had happened.  
  
"Zack," he called through the door. "Is everything ok in there?"  
  
Zack looked back and forth from his fainted friend to the door, which his other friend was on the outside of. Grinning sheepishly he looked back at the fainted blond before replying to his friends question.  
  
"Yeah, Seph, everything's O.K. Just give me a few minutes, ok?"  
  
Sephiroth sighed softly before answering back with a simple 'Ok.'  
  
Zack walked across the room to his fallen friend, chuckling at how green the blond still looked while out cold. He smiled and bent down by the small blond before poking him in the side. The blond turned over mumbling something that Zack caught little snatches of.  
  
"Go 'way, 'ack. 'm goin on motorcy' wis 'Ephy"  
  
Zack grinned and poked the blond again before replying.  
  
"Get up Spikey. You can't go on a motorcycle with Seph if you're passed out!"  
  
The blond opened his eyes and looked up, confused, at his ebony haired friend. Taking the offered hand, the blond looked at the floor oddly before looking curiously at his friend.  
  
"Uh. Zack, why was I laying on the floor?"  
  
Zack looked stupidly at his friend.  
  
"You mean to tell me that you don't remember what just happened?" Zack continued to look stupid as his friend replied.  
  
"I remember having a really bad dream that you invited Sephiroth over to apologize for an earlier incident"  
  
Zack grinned slightly. "You weren't dreamin', Spikey. You passed out when I told ya Seph was coming, well. um. actually he's here."  
  
The blond turned three shades paler than normal and looked like he was about to faint again but Zack grabbed him by the arm and shook him.  
  
"Cloud!!!! Pull yourself together! You wanted to meet him so badly, he's coming to apologize for being an ass to you and you're acting like some frightened little child! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"  
  
Cloud looked at his friend sadly, wishing that he hadn't made him mad and wiping unconsciously at his eyes to remove the gathering tears.  
  
"I'm sorry, Zack. I'm just scared. I mean, he's the General of SOLDIER and I'm currently a Shin-Ra grunt. I feel that I'll do something stupid and never make it into SOLDIER."  
  
Zack gave the blond a loose hug before grinning and walking to the door.  
  
"You aren't going to do anything stupid. Just be yourself." The raven- haired man said before opening the door and greeting the silver haired General. Cloud let an involuntary gasp pass through his lips unnoticed as he saw the man. Sephiroth was not dressed in his usual combat uniform, but in a plain button-up black shirt and blue jeans with his hair tied loosely at the base of his neck. The blond felt overpowered by the man's presence for a moment but remembered what his friend had told him, to keep his cool and act like himself. As Sephiroth walked in Cloud nearly hit himself, this was the highest ranking, most beautiful man in the whole god damned army, and Cloud was just standing there gawking at him. Cloud quickly saluted and blushed, feeling incredibly stupid already. Sephiroth waved his hand nonchalantly.  
  
"There's no need for formalities, Cloud, I'm off-duty and so are you."  
  
Cloud blushed again, feeling completely stupid now and wondering slightly about how Sephiroth knew his name. /DUH!!! Zack. Sephiroth. FRIENDS!!!!!! Surely Sephiroth would know your name by now!/ Cloud nearly smacked himself. /And with what happened earlier, Sephiroth surely asked who I was so of course by now he would know my name. I am so stupid. / Cloud hung his head in defeat, now his own mind was beating up on him and things weren't gonna go well if he kept acting like this in front of Sephiroth. Before he knew it a pair of black boots were in his vision and he could just make out silver through his peripheral vision.  
  
"Cloud?"  
  
The blond looked up, staring at the taller man next to him and nodding his head in acknowledgement.  
  
"Do you know why I'm here?"  
  
Cloud looked deep into the swirling emerald depths of Sephiroth's eyes, nodding slightly and willing his vocal cords to work.  
  
"Yes, I believe so, sir. er. Sephiroth, um. sir."  
  
Cloud looked at the man still unsure of how to speak to him. Sephiroth looked back into the blond's unimaginably deep azure eyes and thought he would drown if he looked to long.  
  
"Sephiroth is fine, unless you prefer the formal way in which all I do is call you trooper and treat you like any other grunt."  
  
Cloud quickly shook his head negatively and nearly died when the man began to chuckle slightly.  
  
"So you know why I'm here so I'll get straight to the point. I apologize." Sephiroth cut himself off but Zack cleared his throat, tapped his foot and glared at the taller man, causing Sephiroth to continue. "I apologize, for being an unimaginable ass when the run in was clearly my fault." He gazed over his shoulder looking at Zack to see if he had said enough for the raven-haired man to get off his back about it. The ebony haired SOLDIER smiled and nodded and Sephiroth seemed relieved. When Sephiroth turned back around Cloud was lost in that emerald gaze, wanting to say that the man didn't have to apologize but not sure if his vocal chords would work long enough to get the words out. They were caught in each others stare, totally lost in one another's eyes and Zack grinned from the side lines. //Oh man, Oh man, looks like somethin' may start between those two. I wonder how long it'll take before they both realize they're staring?//  
  
Cloud was lost, drowning in the swirling jade eyes before him, not realizing the other man was as lost as he was. //He doesn't have to apologize, never have to apologize. Gods he's gorgeous.// An unconscious blush crept onto the mans face at the thought.  
  
Sephiroth was drowning, but not in the usual way one would drown. He could breath perfectly fine but the feeling that held him was like being dragged under the ocean waves by the rip tides. He kept staring into the most beautiful expressive azure eyes he had ever seen, untainted by the glowing effects of Mako. The feeling was unlike any he had ever had not even with Zack. (AN: Yes, yes, I forgot to mention there are SephXZack implications. I am a bad girl ^^;) he had never felt this way all the time he and Zack were together. Thoughts struck him hard. // I apologized, can I leave yet? He's a trooper. but he's absolutely beautiful. WHOA!!!! Where did that come from??? Trooper, here spell it out H-O-T. This is no good. So what? Just how many troops have I had one-night stands with? 20? 25? He's different somehow though.//  
  
The blond was the first to recover, trying to get out what he had intended to say to the older man.  
  
"Uh. sir, Sephiroth. You d-don't have to apologize."  
  
The silver haired General was startled out of his thoughts and raised an eyebrow in question.  
  
"I feel that it was my fault as well. I-I wasn't looking where I was going and wasn't paying attention to who was in front of me."  
  
The silver haired man was shocked, though the only thing that would ever give it away was his eyes. Another thought struck him. //Why exactly was he running?// He thought that maybe he should voice his question, because /if/ there was a problem, any sort of problem such as bullies and the like, he had better damn well know about it.  
  
"Why were you running? I don't think you were even /close/ to being late for sword training."  
  
The blond paled slightly, he was really hoping that the conversation wouldn't turn to why he was running. He looked at his feet mumbling something that might have been 'I was running from bullies' or it just could have been nonsense, but even Sephiroth, with his advanced hearing, couldn't pick up what the blond had said.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
The blond looked up at both his commanding officers, knew he couldn't lie to either of them and sighed in defeat. Sephiroth thought he saw fear and something unidentifiable in the blond's eyes before he spoke.  
  
"I-I'm not very popular with the other troops. Some of the other guys that came from my hometown came and started to tell everyone what a loser and a fag I am. Naturally, most believed them because they had grown up with me. I was running from a group of bullies who like to do more than just verbally abuse me (AN: no they don't rape him, jus in case u were wonderin). They beat me every time they catch me so I was running, trying to get away, not wanting to explain anymore bruises to Zack and to have him worry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, all I knew is that I wanted to get somewhere where there were higher ranking officers so they would leave me alone."  
  
The blond looked up at the two other men in the room, tears showing brightly in his eyes. He was afraid of the two men, not that they were more powerful than him but that they both might think he was weak, not ready for SOLDIER, never ready for SOLDIER, and it frightened the hell out of him. The other men's reaction startled him. Sephiroth and Zack turned to each other nodded and Sephiroth turned back, anger flaring in his jade eyes. The blond lowered his head, this was it, this was when they told him he wasn't cut out for SOLDIER. He closed his eyes awaiting the words and let a couple tears fall.  
  
"Who are they?"  
  
The blond looked up, startled at the words Sephiroth had just spoken. The man wasn't mad at him, the blond realized, the anger flashing in the man's eyes wasn't directed at him, it was directed at the bullies. //He actually cares? I thought they were gonna tell me to get out of training, to go back to Nibelheim because I'm too weak. //  
  
"Wha?"  
  
"Who are they, Strife? Who are the people chasing you?"  
  
"Um. Thompson, Grey, Clark, Takanora, Takoma, Harrison, Casey and Reamora. They each have small gangs that are almost always with them. Find them and you'll find all the people that bother me and some of the other troops."  
  
Sephiroth nodded and Zack looked hurt. He didn't know about Cloud's troubles with other troops as of late and it upset him that Cloud had been hiding it.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me Spike?" The blond sighed softly, looking sadly at his hurt friend.  
  
"I'm sorry Zack. I didn't want you to worry. I should have told you before but I thought you would be upset with me."  
  
The ebony haired warrior walked over to the blond, pulling him into a tight embrace and grinning down at him. The blond broke into broken sobs on his friend's shoulder, feeling like a total loser for hurting his friend's feelings and for crying in front of the two most powerful men in possibly the whole world. Zack stood there, holding the blond, listening to random questions and nonsense mumbled against his shoulder while speaking quietly with Sephiroth.  
  
"Is he going to be okay, Zack?"  
  
The raven haired SOLDIER nodded the affirmative. "Yeah, he'll be okay in a few minutes. He's a little on edge from all the testing and psychological evaluations." They both groaned at this. They knew what a pain in the ass the psychological evaluations were and they both went through them several times throughout their training.  
  
AN: yeah, yeah. I know I said I would make it a lot longer this chapter but I got stuck so I'll start the next chapter real soon. My puppet, Thanatos, gave me several good ideas for what should happen, including all three playing Go Fish. That probably won't happen but anyways R+R please. 


	3. Friendship and Feelings!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I'm running outta inspiration! NEED LOTS OF REVIEWS FOR THIS CH!!!!!! If I don't get reviews there will be no Go Fish!!!!!!! Just kidding. My puppet/muse person, Thanatos, insists that they play so for now I will bend to his and my reviewers wills. I need an idea on how to get them to play tho. Oh well, if someone doesn't help I can figure it out. I've realized that im on the favs list of quite a few that check often to see if I've updated becuz right after I updated I ended up with lots of reviews and more are comin in. Its scary how fast people are. Neways, I'll try to make this Ch longer than the last. Luv ya all  
  
Ansem, seeker of darkness  
Hearts in Atlantis: BIRTH CHAPTER 4 FRIENDSHIP AND FEELINGS  
  
Last Ch.  
  
"Is he going to be okay, Zack?"  
  
The raven haired SOLDIER nodded the affirmative. "Yeah, he'll be okay in a few minutes. He's a little on edge from all the testing and psychological evaluations." They both groaned at this. They knew what a pain in the ass the psychological evaluations were and they both went through them several times throughout their training.  
  
***************************************  
  
Sephiroth smiled slightly as the blond started to calm down. "He's doing well at least. I've seen others older and stronger than him break under the stress. He's still holding himself relatively well and this is just a way to relieve the stress in my opinion."  
  
The raven-haired man nodded. "I think it would mean a lot to him to know you care enough to do something about the bullies." He looked at his best friend. "You usually don't care when a troop's having a hard time. You're starting to remind me of the Wutai War."  
  
Sephiroth paled. /SHIT!!! SHIT!!!/ "I, um.. Well. uh, damnit."  
  
Zack's smile widened. "Hey chill out man. Its not like you haven't fallen for someone before." Zack grinned and acted a sexy as he could while still holding the blond. Sephiroth smiled and shook his head slowly. The blond was still completely oblivious to everything around them and the fact they were talking about him, clinging tightly to his friend and sobbing his heart out. (Seph doesn't know that Cloud's oblivious at the moment)  
  
The silver haired man looked at the blond in his friend's arms and then up to his friend's grinning face. "Do you really think we should talk about this sort of thing at this /exact/ moment?!?"  
  
The raven-haired warrior grinned and looked at his friend. "It's easily taken care of." He looked at the blond in his arms. "Hey Cloud, why don't you go take a shower while me and Seph talk." The blond nodded in agreement against Zack's shoulder, he needed a shower anyways and showers were always relaxing when one was stressed or upset. He stood there another moment before leaving his friend's warm embrace and walked to the small bathroom, closing and locking the door before turning on the shower.  
  
Zack grinned as he watched the blond walk into the bathroom. "See, it's easy to get time to talk between the two of us, just tell him to take a shower and he'll disappear for 'bout an hour. Doesn't matter much anyways with the state he's in, I could have hoisted him over my shoulder and ran 'round screaming 'Cloud is a jackass' in a sing song voice and he wouldn't have realized I had even said his name."  
  
Sephiroth looked at him, raising an eyebrow in question at his friend. "You think so?"  
  
Zack nodded softly. "I know so. There have been times where I've had to yell for about ten minutes just to get his attention."  
  
Sephiroth stopped to think about this. /He sounds like me./ Sephiroth had his own stressful situations to deal with but now that he was older and trained in suppressing his emotions he could keep from breaking down. He knew he was at least 3 times worse than Cloud when he did break down though. Zack had nearly been suffocated the first few times he had tried to comfort the silver haired warrior. Thankfully, Zack was the only person who had ever seen him truly break down, and Sephiroth intended to keep it that way. He sighed inwardly as his thought process turned up an old memory; the first time he had broken down in front of Zack.  
  
~FLASHBACK!!!! (AN: Could ya tell that was where it was headed?)~  
  
Sephiroth moaned pitifully as he sobbed, the hitching of his breath sending painful surges through his body, his every movement aggravating the wounds from his "meeting" with the president.  
  
He curled in on himself, whimpering, hoping to dispel some of the pain but only being rewarded with more pain and the feeling of something wet running down his thighs. He put his hand against the cloth on his thigh, realizing with a groan that he had started bleeding again. He winced as the pain came back and started muttering about how much he hated Shin-Ra, the whole lot of them, and wishing them all very painful, slow, bloody deaths. He also wished he would be the one to bring about their deaths. He didn't care one bit that he was talking to himself and was quite glad that his roommate and best friend, Zack, was not there to see or hear him at the moment. A sound, like that of boots coming down the barracks hallway, startled him out of his less than pleasant thoughts. /Oh nonononononononononononononono! Please, Gods, don't let that be Zack./ Unfortunately for Sephiroth, whatever gods had heard his plea didn't like him very much, for Zack knocked and called through the door a moment later.  
  
"Hey Seph! Ya in there?"  
  
Sephiroth groaned and rolled over the best he could so he was facing the wall instead of the door. He hoped that maybe he could feign sleep but that was unlikely with as observant as his roommate was. It would be a god-sent miracle if the raven-haired teen /didn't/ notice the bruises along his back, the way he was breathing and the spots of blood on the white sheets. He sent a curse to the gods as his roommate knocked again. He heard the door open slowly and the voice that followed it.  
  
"Seph? Are ya in here?"  
  
Sephiroth could practically hear the other teen reaching for the light switch.  
  
"Don't!" He managed to get out at his roommate.  
  
"Don't what?" Was the response he received.  
  
"The light." He managed to get out, his voice wavering slightly. "Don't turn it on." He didn't care that his voice wavered even more. At the moment he only cared about the fact that his roommate, the one he loved but would never tell, was standing nearby and would probably be disgusted when he found out what had happened.  
  
"Are you ok? You sound like you were beaten or somethin'."  
  
He listened to the footsteps that made their way across the room and whimpered softly when a hand came to rest on his shoulder. / No point in lying. He'll find out eventually anyways./ He turned his head to his friend, tears welling in his aquamarine eyes. Silver-blue met aquamarine and the tears fell silently, an unspoken understanding shown in Zack's eyes.  
  
"No Zack. I'm not ok."  
  
~END FLASHBACK~  
  
Sephiroth sighed as he pulled himself from the semi-depressing memory. Looking at his friend, he spoke, trying to keep his voice neutral.  
  
"What makes you think I've "fallen" for him, Zack?"  
  
"Cut the crap, Seph. I saw how pissed you were when you heard about the bullies. I'm not stupid, no matter how much you wish I was sometimes."  
  
Sephiroth glared half-heartedly at his friend for this remark.  
  
"What the hell does that have to do with this? Of course I was pissed about the bullies. Not because they're after him but because there's no need for people like them in SOLDIER."  
  
"Yeah, sure. I can read you like a damn book, Seph. You can't lie to me that easily."  
  
"Thankfully you're the /only/ person that can. I'd have to use Masamune on /myself/ if anyone else could figure out what I was thinking."  
  
Zack chuckled slightly, catching the hidden meaning behind his friend's words.  
  
"Yeah, /that/ would be scary. I think the worlds a better place /without/ knowing what goes on in your screwed up mind."  
  
They both chuckled for a moment but stopped abruptly when they heard a sound from the bathroom. After a second Sephiroth realized what it was; Cloud was singing in the shower.  
  
"Fukai fukai mori no oku ni ima mo kitto Okizari ni shita kokoro kakushite'ru yo  
  
Sagasu hodo no chikara mo naku tsukarehateta Hitobito wa eien no yami ni kieru  
  
Chisai mama nara kitto ima demo mieta ka na  
  
Boku-tachi wa ikiru hodo ni Nakushite'ku sukoshi zutsu Itsuwari ya uso wo matoi Tachisukumu koe mo naku  
  
Aoi aoi sora no iro mo kidzukanai mama Sugite yuku mainichi ga kawatte yuku  
  
Tsukurareta wakugumi wo koe ima wo ikite Sabitsuita kokoro mata ugokidasu yo  
  
Toki no RIZUMU wo shireba mo ichido toberu darou  
  
Boku-tachi wa samayoi nagara Ikite yuku doko made mo Shinjite'ru hikari motome arukidasu kimi to ima  
  
Boku-tachi wa ikiru hodo ni Nakushite'ku sukoshi zutsu Itsuwari ya uso wo matoi Tachisukumu koe mo naku  
  
Boku-tachi wa samayoi nagara Ikite yuku doko made mo Furikaeru Michi wo tozashi Aruite'ku eien ni  
  
Tachisukumu koe mo naku Ikite yuku eien ni"  
  
"Its funny," Sephiroth whispered, looking at the bathroom door. "I haven't heard that song since the Wutai War. How does he know it?"  
  
"I have absolutely no idea. Maybe his mom taught it to him. At least he can sing it right, unlike /some/ people." They both grimaced, remembering the troops that had tried to sing the song and failed miserably. "If it weren't for the fact that I know him and I'm his friend, I'd say he sings like a girl. Hell, who am I kiddin? He /does/ sing like a girl!"  
  
Obviously Cloud had heard Zack, for a second later he stormed out of the bathroom, still dripping wet and only in a towel, stalked over to the closet, grabbed Zack's Buster Sword and stalked over to where Zack was standing, waving the sword threateningly.  
  
"Zack, do I have to hurt you?" The blond asked, brandishing the sword in front of his friends face. Zack backed away in mock terror holding his hands up to shield his face from the raging troop.  
  
"H-hey Spike. How's it goin? WHOA!!!" He ducked quickly, narrowly missing the blade swung at him, losing a few black strands to the blade. Laughing, he darted behind the blond and wrestled the weapon from his hand. The blond put up a valiant struggle to get loose of his friend's grip but lost.  
  
"Ok, Spike. Rule number 5: No killing of superior officers!"  
  
Sephiroth, who had been watching the scene with varying stages of amusement, decided to add his own commentary.  
  
"Yes, especially not in front of /his/ commanding officer."  
  
The words had the desired effect. The blond immediately froze on the spot; no longer struggling to escape from Zack, completely embarrassed for forgetting Sephiroth was still there. He turned, a blush highlighting his delicate features, making Sephiroth think of other situations that blush might appear in. Cloud tried to say something but just stuttered incomprehensibly for a moment before darting back into the bathroom and relocking the door behind him.  
  
Sephiroth was stunned. Sitting where Zack and Cloud had been wrestling. was Cloud's towel. Zack followed his friend's gaze behind him and snickered as he bent down to pick up the article.  
  
"Hey Cloud?" He called, snickering silently.  
  
"Yeah?" The voice came from the other side of the door.  
  
"Do you know where your towel is?" More snickering followed as well as a grin flashed to Sephiroth.  
  
A pause followed by a groan. "Oh no!"  
  
Zack couldn't stand it and nearly had to stuff his fist in his mouth to keep from out right laughing at his young friends embarrassment. Sephiroth looked at his friend in what could only be described as his version of fear. It was an odd expression to say the least, for Sephiroth had rarely used it.  
  
"Zack, if that had happened to me would you do that?"  
  
"You know me, Seph. I just can't pass up a good opportunity to get someone. And as for your question, If we were still together I'd follow you back into the bathroom, but no, I wouldn't do what I just did. You'd kill me."  
  
"Precisely." He looked at the digital clock on the desk in the corner. "I've gotta go. I skipped out on a lot of work today and I'm going to catch hell if I don't do it."  
  
"Ok, I'll see ya tomorrow."  
  
Sephiroth nodded and headed to the door. He stopped at the door, hand hovering on the handle and turned back around.  
  
"Tell Cloud I expect to see him with you tomorrow."  
  
"What do ya mean?"  
  
"I mean that he is to come with you tomorrow. He is no longer training with the recruits in his squad. He is going to be trained by us."  
  
"Ah, I see. Ok then. We'll be there!" Zack grinned and flashed the victory sign. "See ya."  
  
"Yeah, bye." Sephiroth nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind himself.  
  
Zack grinned after the door closed. "This is gonna be good." ***************************** (AN: In da bathroom)  
  
Cloud stood in front of the mirror, now clothed in a t-shirt and boxer shorts.  
  
/Why me? Why did that /have/ to happen in front of /HIM/??? Zack always has to plan something to embarrass me, doesn't he?/  
  
He stared at his reflection in the mirror, loathing the fact that he didn't look a day older than 12.  
  
/Why the hell do I look so young?/  
  
And his hair. He hated his hair.  
  
/It's so damn. spikey. Most people with this length hair can't force it, with any amount of gel, to spike, but mine. refuses to lay flat. More to add to the list of embarrassing things. I can't even control my own damn hair./  
  
He glared at his reflection. Bringing a hand through unruly spikes, he sighed.  
  
/Lets see, how many embarrassing things have I done today? Hmmmm. I ran into the General, ran away from him, fainted, and cried, attacked Zack and my towel fell off. Must be a damn world record. I've embarrassed myself at least 6 times today./  
  
He sighed again and leaned heavily on the bathroom counter, thoughts wandering back to his idle, the reason he was joining SOLDIER in the first place.  
  
/Gods, he's absolutely gorgeous. I'm never gonna get him out of my head now, and was it just me or did he seem like he cared? I think I just imagined it but him apologizing to me, even if it was my imagination, I'll remember it forever./  
  
He looked at the mirror one last time before unlocking and opening the bathroom door. He was nearly tackled by his roommate the second he stepped out.  
  
"Guess what, Spike!"  
  
"What?" asked the blond, bewildered by his friends enthusiasm.  
  
"You're comin with me tomorrow!"  
  
"But I have training tomorrow, you know that."  
  
"Exactly, You're training with me and Seph from now. You're gonna get training from the two most qualified people in SOLDIER."  
  
"But, aren't the instructors qualified?"  
  
"Yeah, in a way they are, but they're only low rank SOLDIERs that can't go on missions so they teach recruits the basics. If it weren't for me and Seph you wouldn't learn anything real important til you're actually in SOLDIER."  
  
"But what if I'm not ready for it? Who's to say I'm ready to train with SOLDIERs? What if I'm not good enough, if I'm never good enough?"  
  
Zack shook his head. "Do you think I'd give up on you that easily? That either me or Seph would give up on you without trying our hardest?" He sighed softly, running a hand through his wild black locks. "He suggested it. I had no part in that, if that was what you were thinking, I was as surprised as you are." He added, reading the look of suspicion on his young friends face.  
  
"But I don't think I can handle it! Not yet at least." The blond replied. "And I don't care if you didn't set it up or not! I think I'm about ready to freakin die already with all that's happened today, so no matter who set it up I'm probably not going to survive the humiliation when I'm not good enough!!!" He continued, just barely crossing the line of talking loudly to yelling. The blond's yelling only frustrated his older friend.  
  
"God damnit Cloud, you /are/ good enough! You're plenty good enough! Sephiroth saw your potential, hell, half of the people in SOLDIER at this moment are in because he could see their potential and he helped them with their skills! DO NOT MAKE ME PULL RANK JUST TO MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH!!!" The raven- haired SOLDIER screamed. "You are going to train with us, you /are/ going to make it, you /are not/ gonna just give up because you're afraid of being embarrassed!"  
  
The blond lowered his head. "Okay, I'll try my best."  
  
AN: ACK!!!! FINALLY!!!! I didn't get where I wanted to but I'm getting closer. Please send reviews (lots of em) and please if you think that I need to work on my writing skillz please tell me, I like to get some constructive criticism but flames have been, and will always be, laughed at and shared with friends to laugh at.  
  
Luv ya all ANSEM 


	4. Thoughts

AN: I AM BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!!!!!!! Its exam week and my muse has gone off to college, leaving me idea-less for quite a while. I am still muse less, but no longer idea less, due to the wonderful romantic fantasies floating through my head recently (can you tell that means I'm in love??? Uh... Since I just said it I guess you can ^_^). Wonderful, wonderful guy at school. He supposedly likes someone else, but there are about 20 rumors flying around that he likes me *swoon* My fantasies will start showing up and I, the wonderful guy, and Thanatos-san (when was the last time I actually talked about him??) will start randomly appearing throughout the story. WE WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANCE SO PAY ATTENTION. just so you realize who we are we will be: Ansem=me, Trent=Thanatos and Spike=wonderful guy (I refuse to reveal name because my beta will probably figure out who it is anyways, then I'll be screwed... ^_^;;;) I may quiz you after this is finished. D: Nope, still dun own them  
  
Hearts in Atlantis: Birth Part 1, Ch 5: Thoughts  
  
Last Ch: "God damnit Cloud, you /are/ good enough! You're plenty good enough! Sephiroth saw your potential, hell, half of the people in SOLDIER at this moment are in because he could see their potential and he helped them with their skills! DO NOT MAKE ME PULL RANK JUST TO MAKE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH!!!" The raven- haired SOLDIER screamed. "You are going to train with us, you /are/ going to make it, you /are not/ gonna just give up because you're afraid of being embarrassed!"  
  
The blond lowered his head. "Okay, I'll try my best."  
  
*************************************  
  
Cloud sighed and laid back on the bottom bunk, watching as Zack climbed into the top bunk. A thought struck Cloud.  
  
"Zack?"  
  
"Yeah Spikey?"  
  
"How long have you known Sephiroth?"  
  
Zack's face appeared over the railing a moment later, looking down at his friend. He maneuvered into a different position, hooked his legs over the railing and a moment later was hanging upside down from his bunk so he was almost face to face with Cloud. He pretended to think for a minute and started counting off on his fingers.  
  
"lets see.... We're 23 now and we've known each other for 7 years. I've known him since I was 16. I was his roommate right before we were sent to the Wutai War. I've never seen him so happy as the day we left for Wutai, the deployment was a saving grace for him, and a reprieve from the tortures he went through.  
  
"Tortures??" Cloud asked, eyes widening at the fact someone so gorgeous and powerful would put up with being tortured.  
  
"Yeah. It was bad for him. Not just when he joined SOLDIER, but his entire life was an endless series of torture and experimentation. He hated it, but there was nothing that could be done to stop it. He never knew his mother or father and was never allowed to meet people or fall in love, so when he finally got away he became sort of a new person, but I'll never forget how dead his eyes were when we had won the war and were on the way back here, to Midgar." Zack's eyes went misty as he spoke and his face took on an expression of regret, hurt and what seemed to be love. No matter how comical Zack looked hanging upside down with his long black hair going everywhere, Cloud couldn't help but feel what Zack felt. He had no idea of what his superiors had gone through, and now that he knew he wished he could do something about it.  
  
"I.. I had no idea he had gone through so much." Cloud whispered. "I feel so dirty now. He was stuck in a lab, not allowed to socialize or even know who his parents were, while I on the other hand had friends and someone I could at least identify as family. It's weird but I feel as though his pain was all /my/ fault."  
  
Zack looked at him. "Its not your fault. It can't be your fault."  
  
Cloud nodded slightly and Zack righted himself, deciding hanging upside down was not as comfortable as it seemed. On a second thought he dropped back into his upside down position and grinned.  
  
"You need ta get some sleep, Spike-boy. You got a big day tomorrow." He said before righting himself again. Cloud bobbed his head in a 'yes' motion, more to be a smart ass than for anything else and waited until he could hear the light snores from the top bunk. Slowly the blond slipped out of his bed, bringing his pillow with him and climbing up the side of the bunk with the pillow raised, ready to smack Zack in the head..  
  
Only to be smacked in the head with Zack's pillow.  
  
"AH!!" Cloud yelled, losing his grip and falling off the bunk, nearly landing on his head.  
  
Zack sat in the top bunk laughing, holding a mutilated sack that was his pillow, minus the feathers, since they had burst out when he smacked Cloud. Cloud on the other hand was sulking, watching the feathers float in the air and irritably picking them out of his hair.  
  
"You can't pull that on me, Cloud." Zack said, laughter finally dying down. "I've been trained to recognize ambushes, even in my sleep, so you'll never get away with whacking me unless you find a way to disable all of my senses." Zack said, grinning at the blond trooper, who was /still/ picking small feathers out of his hair. "Now go ta bed!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Cloud muttered, standing up and tossing his pillow at his friend before climbing into his bunk, thankful he had 2 pillows, since he'd just given one to Zack to make up for the mangled sack that had once been a pillow. "Goodnight."  
  
"Yeah. Sweet dreams, Spike-brain." Zack chuckled and laid down, now tired from all that had happened.  
  
"Sweetest dreams possible." Cloud whispered to himself, closing his eyes and losing himself to the fantasies of his dreams, including a certain silver-haired General.  
  
***********************************  
  
Sephiroth sighed as he sat quietly in his room. The night had been one hell of a weird encounter with the touchy little blond. But not weird of the strange, funky kind, just. weird. The blond had proven himself a stable person when instead of breaking, he just let out his frustration in the easiest way he could, crying. Sephiroth was surprised at what he had seen in those tearful azure eyes. Adoration, fear, sadness, anger, love, and all other sorts of emotions swirling in the depths of the young trooper's eyes. All the emotions he saw had nearly brought him to tears as well, having never seen eyes that conveyed so much as his own had at times.  
  
He had also realized that he had been staring, long after he'd been broken out of it. Cloud had obviously been staring as well, judging by the blush that had spread across his face when Zack caught their attention.  
  
"Zack's right." Sephiroth said to himself, confirming a fact he had known for a long time. "He's always right, he's always /been/ right."  
  
Sephiroth laughed to himself. The night had been odd, but he wouldn't trade it for anything. He had found out more than he thought he would from a simple visit to apologize, and now had the image of the blond stuck in his mind.  
  
/ I wonder../ Sephiroth thought to himself. /What exactly does Cloud think of me?/ Sephiroth sat and pondered this for a moment, finally concluding that the blond must like him in some way other than as a superior officer, due to how often the blond had blushed when they made eye contact, or as the case had been, stared at each other.  
  
More. er... /troubling/ thoughts came to mind the more Sephiroth thought about it, and now that the inappropriate thoughts had started, it would be rather hard to stop them. He set his resolve and laid back on his bed, deciding he'd go to sleep, before the thoughts led to bigger problems.  
  
/Sleep, sleep, slee-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz/  
  
************************  
  
The next morning Sephiroth was not a happy Demi-god. He found that sleep had not helped to stop the problem, only escalated it, making a much /stickier/ problem. Now he was sticky, the sheets were sticky; he needed a shower and the sheets needed washing, making for an absolutely rotten morning.  
  
So the sheets were torn of the bed and thrown in a corner and Sephiroth ran to take a quick shower, cursing the little blond that had caused this problem in the first place.  
  
********************** Cloud and Zack stood in the trading center waiting for Sephiroth to show up. He was nearly an hour late, making Zack wonder just what had happened to make the extremely punctual General late. Cloud was in to much awe to even realize Sephiroth had not yet arrived, far to busy staring about the training center and reveling at all the different and more advanced training methods that were now open to him. The SOLDIER training center even had an anti-gravity room, so one could train for either a situation where they were sent into space or if they came across enemies that could alter the pull of gravity.  
  
Sephiroth stormed in a moment later looking extremely pissed off.. ********************* AN: Update time= My muse is back and is now my beta (WOOT! I HAVE A BETA NOW!) I am also his beta, so if he screws up his stories its most likely my fault. I got further than I thought I would with this chapter.. yay. Soon there will be special Christmas and New Years chapters (obviously very late Christmas and new years chapters..hehehe) 


	5. INEBRIATED DATE

AN: Ok, I didn't even bother having Thanatos-san beta ch 5, so it probably sucks ass, plus I think it came up too short. oh well. I'm just trying to get a couple chapters out quickly to appease all my readers. Gomen nasai minna-san for not updating in *looks at calendar* 10 months. hehehe. oops ^_^;  
  
Oh, me, w.g. (new abrv. for wonderful guy) and Thanatos appear in this chapter. If you didn't pay attention to what our names are in this, go back and look at the opening notes of CH 5. Remember, I show up as Ansem in this so don't go "OMG!! Ansem from KH is in this!!" cuz he doesn't show up until part 4, Hearts in Atlantis: SYNTHESIS. That being said, on with the CH!!  
  
CHAPTER 6 Hearts in Atlantis: BIRTH INEBRIATED DATE  
  
Last Ch. The SOLDIER training center even had an anti-gravity room, so one could train for either a situation where they were sent into space or if they came across enemies that could alter the pull of gravity.  
  
Sephiroth stormed in a moment later looking extremely pissed off.. ************************* *2 weeks later*  
  
Cloud had excelled in the training he had received from Sephiroth and Zack over the past weeks and had even forged somewhat of a friendship with his idol. Sephiroth actually turned out to be far more than he seemed, he was actually a rebel of sorts. He enjoyed drinking, smoking and riding motorcycles without a helmet, and also hated the Shin-Ra more than one could ever imagine. Cloud never thought his idol was such an incredibly cool, laid back person and when he had told Sephiroth so, Sephiroth had passed it off as "all Zack's fault" saying that a lot of Zack's bad habits had "rubbed off" on him. Cloud just laughed at the explanation and the mock- fight between Zack and Sephiroth afterwards.  
  
Sephiroth did seem to pick up some of Zack's habits though, now calling Cloud "Spike" and "Spikey". Cloud had warmed up a bit and was now calling him "Seph" instead of General Sephiroth. He'd even slipped up once and called him "Sephy" which just earned a few laughs and a grin from the silver haired man. ********************  
  
Results for Cloud's psychological evaluations came within a two weeks of his first training session with Sephiroth. He had passed the evaluations with flying colors, making both Zack and Sephiroth proud, because very few actually passed evaluations. To celebrate Sephiroth arranged a night on the town at a local dance club, Essence: DRAGON. He'd also managed to get a hold of a fake ID for the 14 year old, so being asked for ID before being let in wouldn't interrupt the night.  
  
They got to the club by motorcycle, Cloud and Zack on one and Seph on the other. Two bouncers, both of whom Cloud immediately recognized, flanked the door.  
  
"Spike? Trent? What the hell are you two doing here?" He asked, surprised that two SOLDIERs were standing at the door.  
  
"Working, obviously." Spike answered while Trent laughed at the comment.  
  
"SOLDIER doesn't pay shit, so we got part time jobs as bouncers. Anyways, Ansem works here and she gets us pretty good deals, free stuff and the like." Trent said after he'd stopped laughing at Spike's comment. "So, whatcha here for General?"  
  
Sephiroth laughed. "I'm here for.." He paused a moment and looked around cautiously before continuing. "Stuff!" he finished, eyes widening in emphasis of the exclamation.  
  
Trent couldn't stand how funny the face Sephiroth had made was and burst out laughing at the odd expression. Sephiroth scowled and looked at Zack. "It wasn't that funny, was it?" He asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
Zack shook his head while trying to hold back a laugh himself; the expression had been funny.  
  
"Whatever." Sephiroth finally said, shaking his head in dismay at the stupidity of the people he called friends and dragged Cloud into the club, who in turn dragged the still-laughing Zack in.  
  
The next moment a short blonde with her hair twisted into downward pointing spikes accosted them. She was obviously happy to see them, because she immediately glomped Sephiroth and then glomped Zack, before turning and glomping Cloud.  
  
"Hey Ansem." Sephiroth and Zack said in unison while she glomped their unsuspecting friend. Cloud looked like he was suffocating from the intensity of the blonde's glomp and was having difficulty trying to pry her off.  
  
"Uh, Ansem, you can let him go now.." Zack said after a moment, now worrying for his friend's well being.  
  
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Cloud rubbed his sides, wondering if the strong little blonde had managed to crack his ribs. The blonde noticed and scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed grin.  
  
"Sorry, I do that to all l\l00b's. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Ansem, Manager, waitress, and bartender of this dump." At this she laughed, because anyone that walked into Essence: DRAGON automatically knew it wasn't a dump, in fact, it was quite nice for a dance club. Actually, there was no dance floor in sight.  
  
"Er.. Where's the dance floor?" Cloud asked, bewildered.  
  
Ansem smiled and pointed down, indicating the dance floor was downstairs. Cloud nodded slightly in realization and could now hear the steady drone of the music.  
  
After a second Ansem looked pointedly at Cloud. "So, who is the new guy, Sephy?" She asked, looking back and forth from Sephiroth to Cloud. "He's not you-" but Sephiroth shaking his head cut her off from what she was going to say.  
  
"This is Cloud. We're celebrating his recent passing of psych evaluations." Sephiroth answered before she picked up were she had left off.  
  
"Oh, another SOLDIER-boy eh? Cool. Well, good luck to ya, its time for me to go and pester Spike and Trent for a while." She said, waved and walked out the door, where immediate screams of pain were heard.  
  
She popped back through the door for a moment. "Oh Cloud, I know your ID is a fakie. I personally don't give a shit but just be sure the other bartenders don't figure it out." Then she went back outside and the screaming commenced again.  
  
Sephiroth shook his head and walked towards the stairwell that led to the dance floor. "Well, shall we?" he asked, offering an arm to the younger of his two friends. Cloud nodded and allowed himself to be led down the stairs.  
  
Once downstairs the entire atmosphere changed. The downstairs was dark, mostly lit by black light and other special effects lighting, and shrouded in fog from an industrial sized fog machine situated by the DJ's booth. The bar and tables around it were packed and the dance floor was a writhing mass of energetic people that refused to stop their movements.  
  
They headed for a table near the bar and were almost immediately greeted by a scantily clad waitress.  
  
"What can I get for ya?" She asked, taking out a small notebook and a gel pen with black light activated ink.  
  
"A bottle of sake, a bottle of whiskey and 3 shot glasses." Sephiroth answered quickly.  
  
The waitress nodded and headed off to get what had been ordered. She returned a moment later with the drinks, set them on the table and walked off, most likely to wait another table.  
  
"I don't drink" Cloud said, looking at the shot glass that had been set in front of him.  
  
"Nonsense." Zack said. "This is a celebration, you should at least have a little bit." Sephiroth nodded in agreement, pouring sake into the blond's glass.  
  
"Taking a shot is simple, it's fast. Just one quick swallow and its gone." Sephiroth explained, seeing how confused the blond was as he looked at the small glass. The blond nodded and quickly swallowed the liquid, choking and spluttering as it burned his throat.  
  
"Haha.. A couple more and it'll be better." Zack said, pouring a little whiskey into the blond's glass. "Bottoms up!"  
  
A few minutes later Cloud had had several shots and was feeling the effect of the alcohol. Zack had given up on his shot glass and was now drinking directly from the whiskey bottle and Sephiroth was listening in amusement as his friends bickered in a drunken slur. Finally Zack said something that was almost understandable.  
  
"Wh' dun u tu go dance o' sum tin.. While ae ge mo'e acquainted wit ma whiskey." He slurred, hugging the bottle drunkenly and grinning stupidly. Sephiroth nodded slightly and dragged the drunken blond out of his chair. The blond could barely walk but when they reached the dance floor and the music hit the blond a change came over him. He wrapped his arms around the taller man's neck and started swaying to the slow opening of the song. As the song sped up so did the blond, swaying in perfect time to the music, some sort of all night grind remix.  
  
Sephiroth was surprised at the blond's movements and gasped as their hips made contact. The blond was no longer the drunken 14 year old he had been less than a minute ago, now he was a desperate teen who was in complete control of a wanted situation. He spun slowly and started to rub his ass against Sephiroth's hips, causing them both to moan at the erotic feeling. Cloud was slightly surprised when arms wrapped around his waist from behind and the older man started moving with him, grinding their bodies together almost painfully, sending shock waves of pleasure through both.  
  
Cloud moaned and threw his head back, resting it on Sephiroth's shoulder and exposing his neck. Sephiroth moaned and lowered his head, licking and sucking lightly at the soft flesh while still moving with the blond in the erotic dance. Soft cries fell from the young blond's lips as Sephiroth sucked on his neck, leaving a dark red bruise as he finally pulled away. Lips met a moment later, Sephiroth silently begging the submissive blond for entrance, which was immediately granted, both moaning as their tongues mimicked the erotic dance they shared. The music ended all to soon for them and they held their position, Cloud leaning back against the older man, looking up into amazed emerald eyes while emerald looked into submissive azure.  
  
Finally they moved off of the floor followed by a round of applause from most of the women in the club, who had found Sephiroth and Cloud dancing nearly as erotic as they themselves had. Cloud blushed and clung to Sephiroth as they made their way back to their table. Zack was grinning at them as they approached.  
  
"Seems like you two hit it off." He said, grinning.  
  
Sephiroth scowled. "You were drunk out of your mind a minute ago, so what happened, hm?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Zack's grin widened. "You /know/ I can feign being drunk, its simple. All you have to do is act stupid and like you forgot how to talk properly." Sephiroth scowled again.  
  
"What about you?" he asked, looking down at the blond latched to his arm.  
  
"I'm drunk for real." he answered, looking up at the taller man, eyes cloudy and unfocused. "I think it's time we go." Sephiroth said, realizing that the blond was defiantly not lying. They put money on the table for the drinks and walked out, saying goodbye to Ansem, Trent and Spike, who were all at the bar upstairs.  
  
Cloud rode with Sephiroth and Zack rode on his own. When they got back to the barracks Sephiroth had to carry the inebriated Cloud to his room, said goodnight to both the half conscious Cloud and Zack, and headed back to his own quarters, wondering if the events of the night were just because Cloud had been drinking or if they were because Cloud had actually /wanted/ to do what he did.  
  
**********************  
  
*Back at the Essence: DRAGON*  
  
"Did you see that?" Ansem asked a few minutes after Sephiroth, Cloud and Zack had left.  
  
"What? You mean Cloud clinging to Sephiroth?" Trent asked, looking at his empty beer bottle. Ansem nodded.  
  
"Yeah, we saw it." Spike added, finishing off his eighteenth beer. "Let me guess Ansem, this was your doing, wasn't it?"  
  
"Possibly." She answered grinning broadly.  
  
"Damnit Ansem, you've probably just fucked up everything that is supposed to happen! What the hell are we going to do?" Spike asked, frustrated with how stupid she could be at times.  
  
"Hmmm.. We could work with it." Trent mused.  
  
Ansem snapped her fingers. "He's right, we can work with this. My big fuck up may have just made this even better than it would have turned out."  
  
The three huddled together and talked it out, working out all of the details on how to fix what had been messed up.  
  
Finally they broke the huddle, all three smiling. "In the end, this will turn out far more ironic than it would have been.." ***********************  
  
AN: Yay.. Limey Ch 6 is done.. wow, I wrote 2 chapters in one night. Ah the power of the return of a muse ^_^  
  
OK.. I told ya I was going to quiz you on the significance of Ansem, Trent and Spike. Here's question #1: Who do Ansem, Trent and Spike represent? (I don't mean who they represent as in Thanatos, w.g and me. I mean who/what do they represent in the story)  
  
Here's how to send your answers, the person who gets it right will get something special  
( IM me at: RikuNoMiko e-mail at: RikuNoMiko@netscape.net or Review  
  
Oh and PLEASE TELL ME WHO YOU ARE SO I CAN GIVE YOU CREDIT, if its an anonymous review, at least leave your e-mail please 


	6. Broken Musings

AN: Bwahahahahaha!!! Having my muse back is helping so much with my creativity, but of course he isn't helping much with ideas...... *curses the lazy fucker*  
  
D: Waah!! I still dun own them Damnit  
  
Hearts in Atlantis: BIRTH Chapter 7 Broken musing  
  
Last ch:  
  
Ansem snapped her fingers. "He's right, we can work with this. My big fuck up may have just made this even better than it would have turned out."  
  
The three huddled together and talked it out, working out all of the details on how to fix what had been messed up.  
  
Finally they broke the huddle, all three smiling. "In the end, this will turn out far more ironic than it would have been..." ***********************  
  
Sephiroth sat within the confines of his quarters musing over the night's events. The night had been so.../perfect/ yet, it also had this intense feeling that it had been horribly wrong as well. He had no idea whether the drunken blond's motives had been his own, or whether it was all the alcohol taking effect and making him do things he wouldn't normally do. Either way, Sephiroth felt as though some how he had taken advantage of the young cadet.  
  
/He probably won't even remember what he did come morning. Won't I feel stupid then?/  
  
Yet in Sephiroth's mind, the night was unforgettable. Just the memory of how perfectly the blond moved and felt in his arms, how he had tasted and the unimaginable lust and submission that shone in his brilliant azure eyes was enough to keep Sephiroth awake all night, wishing that he could have that moment again. Unfortunately he could never /feel/ the same as he had in that moment. After a while he closed his eyes, tired of his musings, finding that they brought him back around in a complete circle, and drifted off to sleep thinking of his night.  
  
**************************  
  
Cloud woke up the next morning to what felt like someone beating the side of his head with a hammer while someone else slowly drilled through the other side, immediately glad he had taken the day off. He'd get the information for all of his classes later and he no longer had to worry about missing training, since he trained with the two most powerful men in SOLDIER and they allowed him to choose the days he was going to train. He looked around, finding Zack passed out in the middle of the floor, an empty bottle of whiskey lying nearby.  
  
/Hope he didn't steal that from Essence: DRAGON last night. I bet anything Ansem would have his ass. / He thought to himself.  
  
He tried to stand up but fell flat on the ground, finding he was still incapacitated from the previous night's drinking. He cursed himself and grabbed onto the bunk bed, forcing himself to stand up. He managed to stumble to bathroom relatively unscathed, except for a few encounters with the wall and the /open/ door. He grumbled about his luck after finally making into the bathroom and turned on the shower. /Ow... my head.... /  
  
He started rifling through the drawers, trying to find a bottle of Tylenol. His search was unsuccessful and he sighed forlornly. Maybe his drinking escapade hadn't been the smartest thing he'd done in his life.  
  
/oh well.../ he thought to himself, undressing and checking the shower's temperature. /Headaches do eventually go away on their own; just don't think about it. /  
  
He stepped into the shower and sighed as the hot water poured over him. It was calming, to stand under the hot water for as long as he felt like, no classes or anything to take away from his leisure time. He stood and mused over the previous nights events. The drinking was all he remembered of it, or at least that was the only memory of the night he was sure of, the other "memories" were most likely a dream concocted in his drunken state. But hell, even if most of it had been a dream, it was one hell of a good dream.  
  
After a few minutes he got bored with his silent musings and started humming. It was a song he had heard far to many times to forget, and it was so funny and so absolutely perfect for the mood he was in. By the time he actually started singing he had a shampoo bottle in his hand and was acting like it was a microphone.  
  
"I made it through the wilderness  
  
Somehow I made it through  
  
Didn't know how lost I was  
  
Until I found you  
  
I was beat incomplete  
  
I'd been had, I was sad and blue  
  
But you made me feel  
  
Yeah, you made me feel  
  
Shiny and new  
  
Like a virgin  
  
Touched for the very first time  
  
Like a virgin  
  
When your heart beats  
  
Next to mine"  
  
The next verse was cut off, replaced by a scream of "HOLY SHIT!" as the shower curtains were wrenched open by an impish creature only identified as Zack. Cloud's screams went from girlish to angry in a matter of seconds as he grabbed two towels, wrapping one around himself and hitting Zack with the other. Zack didn't even make an attempt to fight back, too busy dying of laughter from finding the blond singing "Like a Virgin" in the shower.  
  
"Shut up! Shut Up!! SHUT UP!!! BASTARD!" Cloud yelled, whacking his friend repeatedly with the towel. Zack stopped laughing long enough to grab another towel and proceeded to hit the blond back. Eventually their small fight made it out of the bathroom into the main living area, where their weapons of choice were abandoned and their small war turned into a wrestling match.  
  
Zack laughed as he pinned the little blond, making sure the blond couldn't move an inch. After a moment he let the blond up and called a truce, which didn't last very long because the moment the blond let his guard down, Zack yanked off his towel and bolted out the door.  
  
Cloud stood in shock for a moment before realizing that yes, the door was still open, and yes, he was completely visible to anyone who would happen to walk by. He squeaked slightly and ran to close the door before bolting to find a pair of shorts and a blunt object to beat Zack with. A few moments later he emerged from his quarters, victorious, clad in white boxers with little red hearts and clutching a large wooden spoon. (AN: See end AN for reasoning)  
  
He ran down the corridor, hoping he was going in the right direction to catch his imp-like roommate. As he skidded around the corner he ran into, knocked over and fell on the last person he wanted to see while clad in only heart boxer shorts. It was Sephiroth. **************************** AN: Weeeeeeeeeee!!!! This was a fun little spoofness to write, just lots of random stupidness while keeping to the story. As for Cloud singing "Like a Virgin", It was all /HIS/ fault *sighs and points at Thanatos* Don't come after me for it. As for the heart boxers and the wooden spoon- The boxers were thrown in because I finished this just after Valentine's day (and cuz I thought it would be Über kawaii) The large wooden spoon came from a conversation I had with an online friend one night after I was upset by w.g., she had given me the large spoon to beat him with for hurting my feelings. The spoon, however, was never used against w.g. (he's so hard to stay mad at ^_^) so the spoon is Cloud's weapon of choice now for beating Zack to a crude, pixel- animated pulp (Im kidding, the graphics of the game aren't wonderful, but I still love it *huggles*) Anyways, Im still awaiting news on whether FFVII: AC is gonna come to the US or not, so if anyone finds out about that, give me a shout. (I'm sure by now you know where to find me ^_^)  
  
ANSEM (With new flavors: Peanut butter, Rum and Butterscotch ripple o_O;;) 


	7. Little Hearts?

AN: WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! More stupidity shall ensue (for lack of better ideas *Hits Thanatos with frying pan*) I swear I am stalking him at the next UU con until he stops being lazy and helps..... Ne ways, not much to say, so on with the ch  
  
Quick Dis (why do I bother? Everyone knows I dun own Squaresoft)- DUN OWN THEM!!! LEAVE ME ALONE *sets up barrier spell*  
  
Hearts In Atlantis: BIRTH Chapter 8 LITTLE HEARTS?  
  
Last ch: He ran down the corridor, hoping he was going in the right direction to catch his imp-like roommate. As he skidded around the corner he ran into, knocked over and fell on the last person he wanted to see while clad in only heart boxer shorts. It was Sephiroth. ******************************  
  
Sephiroth was completely caught off guard by the sudden run in and was now staring into azure eyes from his position on the floor. He also noticed that Cloud had somehow ended up sprawled on top of him.  
  
Cloud was frozen solid. He had no idea that he would run into Sephiroth while running around the halls, and it was an especially bad situation, since Cloud was clad in only heart boxers. Sephiroth was just as still, finding that no matter how odd the circumstances were; it was nice to have the blond so close. It became obvious that Cloud was thinking somewhere along the same lines, because he blushed a deeper shade of red than anyone would have thought possible, but did not attempt to move. Sephiroth was the first to break the awkward silence  
  
"Uh.... Cloud?" was all that made it out of his mouth before Cloud scrambled to get up, wide eyed and mumbling an apology. Sephiroth stood after a second and silently looked the blond over, laughing as his eyes met the heart boxer shorts.  
  
"Little hearts?" he asked, laughing. Cloud bowed his head and mumbled something along the lines of 'they were a gift' but Sephiroth wasn't quite sure. He continued to look the blond over, finally fixing his eyes on the blond's neck. The bruise from the previous night was still there, half covered by damp hair.  
  
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to say something about it, and after a second thought better of it and closed his mouth. Cloud caught the motion and cocked his head to the side.  
  
"What?" he asked quietly, a puzzled look plastering his features. Sephiroth had to stumble for words for a second.  
  
"er...... Why are you running around like that?" he asked, pointing to the blond's sparse clothing. The blond blanched and then blushed.  
  
"I was chasing Zack, he... er.... Jumped me in the shower." The blond answered, scratching the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed grin.  
  
"Heh, well I haven't seen him and I suggest that you acquire more sufficient clothing before you go looking for him again." Sephiroth said with a laugh.  
  
Cloud smiled and saluted his senior officer. "Yes sir!" He yelled, turning on his heel and darting back towards his quarters.  
  
Sephiroth smiled and yelled after the little trooper. "Good luck and have fun in your Zack hunting!"  
  
Cloud just caught what the older man had said and turned to say he would, but when he looked down the corridor, Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen. "I have no idea how he always does that." He whispered to himself, shaking his head and making the way back to his quarters.  
  
He came out a few minutes later now clad in blue jeans and a white button down shirt and reequipped with his large wooden spoon, intent on finding the imp that cut his shower short.  
  
"I'M GOING TO FIND YOU, ZACK!" he yelled down the hall, then cackled evilly, or at least as evilly as a 14-year old going through puberty could. He raised his spoon and darted down the hall towards the cafeteria, unaware of the raven-haired imp watching him from the corner of a hallway in the opposite direction. After the blond was out of earshot, Zack let out his own cackle, which sounded far eviler than the blond's, and darted into their quarters, waiting for the blond to come back.  
  
AN: Short, I know, but im not getting any reviews or anything so who cares. This chapter was going an entirely different direction but I erased and redid it. I think its funnier now anyways.  
  
For anyone interested, heres an update on me and w.g.: He loves someone else, but its still obvious that he cares for me though his statement the other day of "Care is a weakness that you should avoid at all costs" is a little misleading. There's still a lot of mutual flirting going on and I told him I'd be here for him when the shit with his girl hits the fan and things don't go as planned.  
  
2nd question: Last ch, I mentioned the significance of the large wooden spoon. Can anyone tell me, without going back, what the significance of the wooden spoon to me was? 


	8. Gathering of Pagans

AN: Ok, we have winners for my first 2 questions. Jade, Queen of the Damned was the only one who attempted question 1, and her answer was plenty close enough to get a cookie (A gift fic!), And for answering question 2 correctly gets a special cookie as well. Besides that, no new announcement crap except for thanking for telling me when FF7:AC comes out *huggles and sets to write yet another gift fic*  
  
Hearts in Atlantis: BIRTH Ch 9 Gathering of Pagans  
  
Last ch....  
  
"I'M GOING TO FIND YOU, ZACK!" he yelled down the hall, then cackled evilly, or at least as evilly as a 14-year old going through puberty could. He raised his spoon and darted down the hall towards the cafeteria, unaware of the raven-haired imp watching him from the corner of a hallway in the opposite direction. After the blond was out of earshot, Zack let out his own cackle, which sounded far eviler than the blond's, and darted into their quarters, waiting for the blond to come back. *************************  
  
Cloud was pissed. He'd searched the lounges, gym, cafeteria and all the other places he could think of for Zack. Well all except one. He hadn't checked Sephiroth's quarters yet, and even though he wasn't sure he /wanted/ to go there, considering the earlier run in, it was pretty much the last place. The blond decided he had to and set off in the direction of his friend's quarters.  
  
When he got there a disgruntled, half-naked General greeted him. The elder's sudden attitude problem didn't bother Cloud in the slightest; he was too busy staring at the pentacle hanging around the man's neck.  
  
"What?" Sephiroth asked, dropping some of the tone he'd had when he'd answered the door. Cloud snapped out of his sudden lapse and looked to his superior's eyes.  
  
"Uh.... Is Zack here?" The blond asked, wondering if it had been stupid to come or not.  
  
"Nope, still haven't seen him." The older answered, turning to go back into his quarters.  
  
Cloud stumbled for a moment on his words before finally spitting them out as the door started to close. "So, you're.... Er, you're pagan?" the blond asked, immediately wishing he hadn't said it, because it sounded so stupid.  
  
Sephiroth stopped and turned back to the blond. "Yeah, do you have a problem with it?" he asked, eyes narrowing dangerously. Cloud shook his head quickly.  
  
"Nononononononono! I, I just didn't know that there were more pagans in SOLDIER than just me. Is.... Is there a coven in SOLDIER too?" The blond asked, not able to find anything else to say.  
  
"Well.... Yes there is a coven, and we've got enough room for one more member. I'm sure the High Priest and Priestess will be happy to have you. In fact, tonight is Bealtaine, so you're welcome to come to tonight's gathering if you wish." The silver haired man answered, extending the invitation nonchalantly while silently willing the younger to say yes.  
  
The blond was speechless, and just stood there for a moment. Finally he answered that he'd like to come.  
  
"Good, have you ever worked within a coven or have you done solitary practice?" the man asked, beckoning to the blond to come in and sit down. The blond marveled at the gothic decorating of his idol's quarters and nearly tripped over the glass coffee table, being stopped from doing so by a hand on his arm. He took the seat offered to him on the couch and was surprised when Sephiroth sat right next to him.  
  
"Um.... I've only done solitary practice. There were no covens in the Nibelheim area, and being pagan, or, more precisely, a witch was severely looked down upon." The blond answered truthfully, looking at the man sitting next to him. Sephiroth looked back and smiled slightly.  
  
"Well, if anybody here from your town gives you shit, they'll have to answer to more than just me. They'll have to answer to the whole fuckin coven. Especially the High Priestess, I'm sure when you find who she is, you'll agree that she is really not a person that you should mess with, especially concerning members of her coven." Sephiroth stated with a smile. Yes, the little blonde priestess was certainly not one to mess with, He'd seen the consequences of messing with a member of her circle, and it wasn't pretty.  
  
Cloud seemed happier at the thought that the entire coven would protect him. Sephiroth noticed the slight smile that had formed on the blond's lips. "Something amusing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.  
  
Cloud nodded slightly. "Its.... It's just that I've never had anyone to protect me. I've always had to fend for myself. Having a whole group of people that are there for me, and willing to protect me is a new to me. It's kind of a nice feeling, to have protectors." The blond remarked, looking at his hands and closing his eyes in thought. Sephiroth found this as a sign to end this part of the conversation.  
  
"Since you've never been in a coven environment, I'm betting you've never heard of the Five-Fold Kiss." Sephiroth stated, bringing the topic back to the coven and the gathering.  
  
"I've heard of the Five-Fold Kiss before, but I'm not exactly sure what it entails." The blond answered truthfully, staring at his hands while twiddling his thumbs. Sephiroth sighed.  
  
"Demonstrating it is easier than defining it, but I'll do both so you completely understand. The Five-Fold Kiss, also known as the five fold salute or Witches salute. It comprises of kisses on various parts of the body in the following order: A kiss on each foot, a kiss on each knee, a kiss on the lower belly, a kiss on each breast and a kiss on the lips. These five positions make up the five-fold kiss even though there are actually eight kisses in total. The five-fold kiss is only used within the circle. Basically, it's a greeting."  
  
Cloud nodded that he understood and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet for the demonstration. Sephiroth kneeled and proceeded to kiss the blond's feet, knees, lower stomach, breasts and stood fully to press his lips lightly against the younger's before pulling back slightly, just enough to see the blond's eyes. Cloud opened his eyes slowly, not even realizing he had closed them during the kiss, and looked at the older man not even an inch from him. Cloud saw something swimming within those emerald colored eyes that he couldn't quite identify and, acting on his instincts, closed the small gap by pressing his lips to his elder's.  
  
Sephiroth was startled, lips pressed against his and beautiful azure eyes locked with his before fluttering shut. After a second with no reaction the blond pulled away and mumbled something that resembled an apology as he turned towards the door. Sephiroth couldn't believe what had happened and grabbed the blond's arm, pulling him back so they were face-to-face again, or as close to face-to-face as a 5'2" teen and a 6'1" man could be. Cloud turned his face away, not expecting any good to come of the current situation, only to turn back when Sephiroth brushed a hand over his cheek and held it there.  
  
Azure and Emerald locked for a second before Sephiroth leaned down and pressed his lips to the blond's, sliding his hand from the boy's cheek into soft blond spikes. Cloud moaned against the taller man's mouth, lips parting slightly, allowing Sephiroth access to what was desired. Sephiroth deepened the kiss, coaxing the blond's tongue into battle as they moaned in unison, finding pleasure in each other's touch. After a moment Sephiroth pulled away to watch the blond, waiting for azure to open.  
  
The blond opened his eyes and stared at the older man, amazed at what had just happened. "Ai.... Ai Shiteru Sephy-sama." The blond whispered softly, bursting into tears as the taller man told him the same. Sephiroth was inquisitive as to why the beautiful creature he held started to cry and knelt, pulling the blond into his arms.  
  
"Shhhhh..." He coaxed, rubbing the blond's back as he cried. "It's ok, Cloud. It's ok. What's wrong?"  
  
The blond sniffled as he tried to compose himself long enough to speak. "I... I- i....... I've n-n-never be-been loved b-before." Was all that made it past his lips before dissolving into tears again.  
  
Sephiroth shook his head with a slight smile and stood up, holding the blond in his arms. He relocated to the couch, content to lay there and hold the sniffling blond for as long as need be. Soon the blond's sniffling ceased and his breathing slowed, signaling that the young cadet had cried himself to sleep. Sephiroth was fine with this and lay there running his fingers slowly through soft blond spikes, watching the blond sleep. Eventually Sephiroth became tired himself and nodded off, the young blond curled up in his arms.  
  
************************************ AN: firstly, I am pagan and I chose to be different and make Sephiroth and Cloud pagan in MY story. If you have a problem with paganism and those that follow it, you don't have to continue reading this story. The whole point of me writing them pagan is to firstly show that it doesn't matter what you follow, it matters who YOU are, and secondly these next few chapters will explain what being pagan truly is, not the shit made up by the Christian faith and Hollywood movies. I refuse to sit back and watch further persecution of those who follow a different lifestyle and If you decide to flame me telling me what a worthless, Satanist piece of shit I am and how I'm going to burn in hell for eternity, feel free to go ahead and do so. Just remember this: Whatever you put out, comes back three times worse. The three-fold law (in easy to understand terms, I don't feel like reciting and explaining the Witches Rede right now)- whatever one does comes back to one thrice-multiplied, in amplified repercussion.  
  
Secondly, I got sick of waiting for the whole "confession of love" thing until a later chapter, so here it is ^_^ isn't it cute *melts into bubbly, sappy puddle of goo*  
  
ANSEM 


	9. Bealtine and Initiation

AN: I did a stupid thing last chapter, I had meant to fill in the names of the people who won fics (besides Jade), but I forgot to before posting the ch -__-' I'm a bad girl. And instead of flames for the pagan thing, I'm getting encouragements from fellow pagans. *cries* damn, and I wanted at least one flame for that too....... Someone please flame me now.  
  
Hearts in Atlantis: BIRTH Ch 10 Bealtaine and Initiation  
  
Last ch...  
  
Sephiroth shook his head with a slight smile and stood up, holding the blond in his arms. He relocated to the couch, content to lay there and hold the sniffling blond for as long as need be. Soon the blond's sniffling ceased and his breathing slowed, signaling that the young cadet had cried himself to sleep. Sephiroth was fine with this and lay there running his fingers slowly through soft blond spikes, watching the blond sleep. Eventually Sephiroth became tired himself and nodded off, the young blond curled up in his arms. ********************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For to see my depth of sorrow  
  
You are not allowed to follow me  
  
into this town square  
  
And then run away~  
Rufus Wainwright- 'Evil Angel' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Cloud woke up pleasantly warm and rather comfortable, but also found himself unable to move. Looking down he saw none other than the sleeping face of Sephiroth, at which the blond nearly freaked out but then remembered the earlier occurrences of the day. He sighed slightly and moved his arms so he could fold them in front of his face and rest his chin on them. After doing so he just lay there, quietly watching the older man sleep and wondering what he was dreaming about. Obviously it was something pleasant, due to the soft smile on pale lips and the way his eyelids fluttered every so often, almost threatening to open and catch the blond watching.  
  
Finally the blond got bored of watching the man sleep and decided to do something about it. "Seph." He whispered softly, poking the aforementioned in the chest with his index finger. Sephiroth moaned irritably in his sleep and swatted at the offending finger. Cloud, in his attempt to dodge the swats in his direction, lost his balance and fell off the couch, yelping as he hit the floor. The yelp had obviously woken the older man, for he shifted and peered over the side of the couch with one eye open and a look that could kill on his face, until he saw the blond laying there.  
  
"Wha? Wha happened?" He asked groggily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and sitting up with a yawn.  
  
"You attacked me in your sleep." The blond muttered indignantly, a pout on his face and his bottom lip sticking out.  
  
Sephiroth laughed slightly. "Well what did you do to me while I was sleeping? Hmmm?" he asked, eyeing the blond as he pouted.  
  
"I poked you, I didn't expect you to try to murder me in your sleep!" The blond exclaimed, pointing his finger accusingly as his pout grew.  
  
Sephiroth laughed again. "See! That's the problem, no poking or anything else that could possibly cause harm while I'm sleeping. If you didn't notice, I will react." He said, standing and offering the blond a hand up. The blond took the hand offered and allowed himself to be pulled into the older man's embrace. "Quit pouting koi, I'm sure I didn't "attack" you as badly as you make it out to be." The little blond nodded slightly, looking into his elder's eyes.  
  
"What were you dreaming about? You looked happy, whatever it was." The blond whispered, raising an eyebrow. Sephiroth smiled and leaned forward so his lips were next to the younger man's ear.  
  
"You really wanna know?" he whispered, tracing the blond's earlobe with his tongue at the end of his question. The blond gasped and nodded, eyes fluttering as Sephiroth repeated the action.  
  
"I was dreaming about you." He whispered, dragging his tongue down to the base of the blond's neck. "And about how long I could get this to stay." He remarked as he bit at the soft flesh before alternating between sucking and licking the area. Cloud gasped and threw his head back at the feeling, eyes shutting as the sensation washed over him. A moan escaped his lips after a second, showing the older man how much he was enjoying the feeling. The moan did not go unanswered for long, for Sephiroth finished his ministrations on the teen's neck and moved to pull the blond into a breath- stealing kiss. The kiss stole both of their breaths and they had to pull away after just a moment. (AN: I'm kind of redundant here, ne? Breath- stealing, stole there breaths... *shrugs* whatever, I'll leave you be now)  
  
The blond's eyes opened slowly, and a sigh left his lips. "Don't we need to get ready for the gathering?" he asked, pulling away so they wouldn't end back up in lip lock instead of doing what they needed to. Sephiroth nodded slightly.  
  
"Do you have robes?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah." The blond answered. "I'll go back to my room and change." Sephiroth nodded and placed his hand on the blond's cheek. "I'll see you in a few minutes then, ok?" he asked, kissing the blond softly. Cloud nodded and turned to go, caught in an embrace before he could make it another step.  
  
"Before you go, remember that this," the silver haired warrior whispered into the back of the blond's neck, licking the blood red bruise he had just put there, "Marks you as mine. If anyone touches you now, they will die. I swear it. Ai Shiteru Cloud-kun." Then the older man released him, said goodbye and walked to his bedroom to change into his own robes. ***********************  
  
Cloud didn't notice how fast his feet carried him back to his quarters; he had been too busy thinking of what had just happened to realize he was standing in front of the door. He opened the door and was immediately pounced by a hyperactive imp and pinned to the ground so he couldn't move.  
  
"Zack! Get OFF DAMNIT!" The blond yelled, struggling to get the raven- haired SOLDIER to release him. Surprisingly, Zack did exactly that, standing up and pointing at the blond's neck.  
  
"Cloud!" The SOLDIER said accusingly. "Who did that? I thought the only person you would allow to do that if ever possible would be Sephiroth."  
  
Cloud smiled softly. "It was Sephiroth." He answered simply, walking past Zack and proceeding to dig his robes out of the closet. He pulled back a second later, holding his favorite robe, which was made of crushed black velvet.  
  
If Zack's jaw could have hit the floor, Cloud was sure it would have at that precise moment. "No way... I mean, how did this come about?" The raven- haired imp asked, scratching his head. Cloud was starting to think Zack had lice because of how often he seemed to scratch his head.  
  
"I went there looking for you, and it went downhill from there." Cloud answered, not intending to answer in further detail. Suddenly there was knocking at the door.  
  
"Koibito?" came the call from the other side. Cloud blushed; he knew that Zack couldn't understand a word of Wutain (AN: I'm getting kind of redundant with AN's now, but hell.... Japanese is Wutain now, since Japan don't exist in FF7, but I'm quite sure you already knew that, so I shall shut up now ^_~) but it was still kind of new to be called "dearest" or "darling", depending on how you translated the word.  
  
Cloud answered the door find Sephiroth clad in a black, coincidentally velvet, robe with his hair tied back in a high ponytail. "Konnichi wa, Sephy-sama." the blond answered, allowing the taller man into the room with a small smile. The smile was mirrored on the older man's face.  
  
"Are you ready to go?" the silver haired man asked, hoping that they could get to the gathering before the Bealtaine festivities started, since Cloud needed to be initiated before he could join the circle's celebrations. Cloud nodded and ran to throw on his robes quickly. After a second he was back and they were headed out the door into the hallway, Zack left dumbfounded in the room. *******************************  
  
AN: OK..... I know what your thinking.... This chapter is complete ass! I suck right now, but I thought instead of a big long dumb chapter, while trying to explain Bealtaine to those who do not know what it is, I'll just cut the ch short and head right into explanations.  
  
Bealtaine, for those who do not know (I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!! *points accusing finger*), is May Day. It is usually celebrated anywhere from the 1st to the 5th of May. It represents the coming of summer, the union of the Goddess and God, love, the joining of 2 halves to make a single whole, the third entity, and some speculate that it represents the Spiritual Trinity. It is represented by the May pole *starts falling asleep, even though is telling the short, less boring explanation*  
  
If you want the full low-down on Bealtaine and anything else I may mention, go here: www.paganspath.com Very big, explanatory site. A lot to read, but probably the best place to learn, whether you've chosen a pagan path, or just wish to know about it. Lady SpringWolf (the owner of the site) is a very trustworthy, reliable source  
  
Second order of Business: Next chapter is Cloud's initiation. I myself have not been through an initiation, due to pagan hating parents who don't know I'm pagan and the fact that I have not been able to locate a local coven *grumbles incoherently about random bullshit* If any other pagans out there want to help me out with the scene, since I have limited knowledge, please review or send me an email before I blow the next chapter out my *beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep* Sephiroth: EXCESSIVE VULGAR LANGUAGE ALERT!!!!!!! *kicks stupid censoring General of SOLDIER* Look whose talking *sticks out tongue* *bickering continues while corny elevator music gradually heightens in volume*  
  
Announcer: This has been a public service announcement paid for by Shin Ra Electric Co. Mako makes us go! *shotgun blast through the head* Rufus: *huggles gun* I love my shotgun...... *grin* Reno *from another room*: Rufus, babe, come back to bed.... Its cold. Rufus: Ooooooooooooooooo *__* *runs off to heat the bed* coughifyaknowwhatImeancough  
  
ANSEM (I'm worried, my AN's are turning out longer than my chapters -___-') 


	10. Chapter 11

Attention all:

After a long hiatus, I shall be rewriting Hearts in Atlantis... Hopefully everyone will like the new version even more than the original


End file.
